Desmond Morgan of the Michigan Wolverines reacts with James Ross III and Jibreel Black after intercepting a pass in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies on Sept. 21, 2013. / Getty Images

Written by

Zach Travis

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Zach Travis is a manager of the Wolverines blog Maize n Brew. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. Read his column every week here and contact him anytime at zwtravis@gmail.com.

Four games into the season is a good time to take stock in what is known and what isn't about a football team.

With one-third of the regular season down and the Big Ten season upcoming, it's time to make a list of the things we know and the things we don't about Michigan football’s Team 134:

Things we know:

■ Michigan has a defense capable of keeping the team in every game this year. There have been some rough stretches, particularly late in the game against Akron but, time and again, the defense has made life hard on opposing offenses and forced teams to try and score on long, mistake-free drives. Against UConn, U-M only gave up one long scoring drive; against Akron, it was just two. Even Notre Dame mustered just two long touchdown drives. Michigan has gotten consistent enough production out of this unit tho signal good things yet again this year.

■ Michigan's offense is capable of putting up points in a hurry. The last two games have muddied perception just a bit, but when looked at without the turnovers, the offense has produced when it needed touchdowns. The second half against Akron included three touchdown drives that covered 213 yards in 17 plays at a total time of 6:55. Late in the last three games, U-M came through with big plays and quick strikes to take the lead.

Turnovers have been an issue in digging the Wolverines into the holes they have been forced to climb out of, but the explosive, dynamic offense that was showcased early in the season still exists.

Things we don't know:

■ Where Devin Gardner's head is, for one. This might be the most important thing that U-M needs to answer this year. The quarterback has never been great about limiting turnovers; last year, he averaged an interception per game after taking over at quarterback. This year, things have gone completely off the tracks. Gardner already has eight interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and a handful of fumbles.

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Even worse, his struggles passing have, in circular fashion, further eroded his already shaky mechanics that caused some of his early mistakes. If Gardner can stop the negative spiral, he can be a solid, game-winning quarterback for Michigan and all of his plays, taken together, can be a net positive. It no longer feels like the sky is the limit for his production; the greater concern is how poorly he can play when things start to slip.

■ While the defense has shown itself to be a strong bend-not-break group capable of limiting big plays and forcing mistakes on long drives, the unit has only occasionally flashed the kind of big playmaking ability necessary for the defense to go from very good to great. U-M’s pass rush picked up against a bad UConn team, but had been almost non-existent in the two games before.

The defensive backfield and linebackers are positives in coverage down the field, but without a steady, threatening pass rush, the back seven is faced with a lot more calm, accurate passes late in a play, and that gives opposing quarterbacks time and confidence to take shots down the field — something Michigan has been on the wrong side of a few times in the past two games. As the defensive line rotation tightens up things could continue to improve but, right now, it seems that missing Jake Ryan is taking a toll in at least one area of the defense.

Taken together, U-M has an enviable set of problems. The issues aren't talent based. The Wolverines aren't deficient in their roster or depth outside of a couple shallow positions. They have shown flashes of the kind of ability necessary to compete for a conference title. However, the mistakes and deficiencies have shown up with enough frequency that even the thought of Michigan winning the games it should is in doubt.